June 23, 2014 |Photos by Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

Residents and preservationists concern over road construction in Freedmen's Town when the roads are repaved. The project is slated to start in July 2014.

Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

8of11

Robert Marcom, a professor and archeologist who is working on projects in the Fourth Ward, talks about the history of the brick streets in the Fourth Ward at the Rutherford BH Yates Museum on Andrews near Wilson Thursday, June 19, 2014, in Houston. "What this city want's to do to these streets is criminal," Marcom said. "This city is not concerned about conservation. We will lose this contribution to the National Register status if you pull up these brick."

Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle

8of11

Robert Marcom, a professor and archeologist who is working on projects in the Fourth Ward, talks about the history of the brick streets in the Fourth Ward at the Rutherford BH Yates Museum on Andrews near Wilson Thursday, June 19, 2014, in Houston. "What this city want's to do to these streets is criminal," Marcom said. "This city is not concerned about conservation. We will lose this contribution to the National Register status if you pull up these brick."